baggybill
Always learning...
First off, a big thanks to the HBF & The Homebrew Company for organising the raffle and putting up the prizes :hat:
I was lucky enough to win the above kit and put the brew on Saturday evening, 15th August. Here is my review, which Iââ¬â¢ll update as it goes along.
This is the first time Iââ¬â¢ve done an extract kit, having done a few one can, two can and AG beers to date. Itââ¬â¢s also the first time Iââ¬â¢ve used my new Burco 30L boiler and the no-chill cube.
My first impression of the kit when opening the box wasââ¬Â¦ very impressed! Thatââ¬â¢s a lot of kit for ~ã16 especially if you compare it price wise to buying say a Coopers stout and a Brew Enhancer kit for near the same money.
Kit contents:
~810g mixed steeping grains (Roasted Barley, Chocolate Malt, Carapils Malt)
~40g Galena hops (60 mins)
2 x 1.5kg Light Malt Extract
1 x muslin sock for the grains
1 x 11g packet Safale US-05
1 x Whirfloc tablet
And of course the instructions which are basic but sufficient (at least for me):
First mistake I made was thinking I could steep the grains in my 16L stock pot. 2 litres of water in this was about 2cm deep ââ¬â not good enough to steep anything soââ¬Â¦ pressure cooker to the rescue. I warmed up the LME in a pot of water at the same time, see below:
Temperature of the mash seemed to fluctuate over the 30 minutes required, which I reckoned was due to the small amount of grain/water. I kept it as close to 67ââ¬â¢ as I could by turning on the gas for a short burst now and again. Also gave it a good poke/stir every 10 mins to make sure all the grain got steeped. Final mash result below:
Used my 16L stock pot to dunk sparge (as opposed to 'rinse' in the instructions) the grain bag for 10 minutes with water I had already prepared @ 80ââ¬â¢
Basically, I just chucked a couple of litres from a boiling kettle into it about 10 mins before steep finished. Squeezed the living daylights out the bag and the wort was still running out thick and black. Felt I could have used a lot more water (same with the mash) and extracted even more wort butââ¬Â¦ stuck to the recipe exactly.
Onto the boilââ¬Â¦
While I was getting the mash on, I fired up my new 30L Burco with ~20L of filtered water, figuring that this plus ~3L from the mash/sparge and ~3L LME would get my 26L final boil required as per instructions. It was spot on, eyeballing it 1cm below the 27L max mark.
Although there is no hop bag supplied with the kit, my boiler has the standard tap and no filter fitted so I used my own ââ¬â purchased on another, earlier order from HBC (quality hop bags btw!).
The boiler kept a great rolling boil with no issues at all and the supplied Whirfloc tablet went in 15 mins from the end.
I donââ¬â¢t have a wort chiller as I plan on overnight no-chilling to break up my brewing time in the kitchen (read - get the wife off my back for hogging the kitchen!) so, into the cube it went. This kit only had a 60 min hop addition so no late hoppings to worry about.
And then off to the fridge (big mistake) for overnight cooling.
I say mistake because when I checked the temperature in the morning, the fridge was warm inside!
The size/volume of the boiling wort cube was heating up the enclosed fridge rather than the fridge cooling it down. It was sitting about 30ââ¬â¢ at 8am. So, outside it went to sit in the shade on the concrete slabs for a few hours and it was down to about 22ââ¬â¢ by mid-day.
From now on, Iââ¬â¢ll leave it on the garage floor (or out the back) to cool down overnight.
I then transferred the wort to a proper fermentation vessel, pouring it from a height (smells amazing!), through a sieve, to catch any grain/hop debris, which also aerated the liquid at the same time.
FV only shows 20L for some reason, donââ¬â¢t think I boiled off 6L so itââ¬â¢s probably out a bit ââ¬â Iââ¬â¢ll calibrate it once done.
Sample drawn off for OG which came in at 1.052 and yeast was re-hydrated (personal preference) and pitched when ready.
Finally, sealed up and tucked away in a fermentation chamber @ ~20ââ¬â¢
Brew was starting to bubble about ~3 hours later when I checked and was bubbling like mad the following morningââ¬Â¦
As of yesterday, Thursday 20th Aug, bubble lock has stopped completely. I intend to leave it 10 ââ¬â 14 days for yeast clear up though.
Kit Summary
Proââ¬â¢s
Great kit for the money, quality yeast included, wort smelled and tasted superb, hoping for an amazing stout from this.
Only one large pot required for the 26L boil, mash just needs a pot/vessel big enough for a couple of litres of water and about a kilo of grain ââ¬â my old pressure cooker was more than adequate.
Conââ¬â¢s
Itââ¬â¢s a lot of work with a 30min mash & 60min boil for an extract kit. Plus a large pot is required for a 26L boil.
If you have a bigger vessel for the mash (e.g. ã10 quid Asda 24L coolbox) and chances are you do if you already have a large boiler, you could just get the full on AG kit i.e. replace the tins of LME with pale malt grain.
You have to do a temperature controlled mash and a 60 minute boil anywayââ¬Â¦ not just steeping some grains, boiling some DME/LME in a small stock pot and adding water to make 20-23L in your FV (which I thought was the benefit of extract brews).
Disclaimer ââ¬â Iââ¬â¢ve only been making beer just over a year and this is my first and only extract kit to date, ymmv :
I was lucky enough to win the above kit and put the brew on Saturday evening, 15th August. Here is my review, which Iââ¬â¢ll update as it goes along.
This is the first time Iââ¬â¢ve done an extract kit, having done a few one can, two can and AG beers to date. Itââ¬â¢s also the first time Iââ¬â¢ve used my new Burco 30L boiler and the no-chill cube.
My first impression of the kit when opening the box wasââ¬Â¦ very impressed! Thatââ¬â¢s a lot of kit for ~ã16 especially if you compare it price wise to buying say a Coopers stout and a Brew Enhancer kit for near the same money.
Kit contents:
~810g mixed steeping grains (Roasted Barley, Chocolate Malt, Carapils Malt)
~40g Galena hops (60 mins)
2 x 1.5kg Light Malt Extract
1 x muslin sock for the grains
1 x 11g packet Safale US-05
1 x Whirfloc tablet
And of course the instructions which are basic but sufficient (at least for me):
First mistake I made was thinking I could steep the grains in my 16L stock pot. 2 litres of water in this was about 2cm deep ââ¬â not good enough to steep anything soââ¬Â¦ pressure cooker to the rescue. I warmed up the LME in a pot of water at the same time, see below:
Temperature of the mash seemed to fluctuate over the 30 minutes required, which I reckoned was due to the small amount of grain/water. I kept it as close to 67ââ¬â¢ as I could by turning on the gas for a short burst now and again. Also gave it a good poke/stir every 10 mins to make sure all the grain got steeped. Final mash result below:
Used my 16L stock pot to dunk sparge (as opposed to 'rinse' in the instructions) the grain bag for 10 minutes with water I had already prepared @ 80ââ¬â¢
Basically, I just chucked a couple of litres from a boiling kettle into it about 10 mins before steep finished. Squeezed the living daylights out the bag and the wort was still running out thick and black. Felt I could have used a lot more water (same with the mash) and extracted even more wort butââ¬Â¦ stuck to the recipe exactly.
Onto the boilââ¬Â¦
While I was getting the mash on, I fired up my new 30L Burco with ~20L of filtered water, figuring that this plus ~3L from the mash/sparge and ~3L LME would get my 26L final boil required as per instructions. It was spot on, eyeballing it 1cm below the 27L max mark.
Although there is no hop bag supplied with the kit, my boiler has the standard tap and no filter fitted so I used my own ââ¬â purchased on another, earlier order from HBC (quality hop bags btw!).
The boiler kept a great rolling boil with no issues at all and the supplied Whirfloc tablet went in 15 mins from the end.
I donââ¬â¢t have a wort chiller as I plan on overnight no-chilling to break up my brewing time in the kitchen (read - get the wife off my back for hogging the kitchen!) so, into the cube it went. This kit only had a 60 min hop addition so no late hoppings to worry about.
And then off to the fridge (big mistake) for overnight cooling.
I say mistake because when I checked the temperature in the morning, the fridge was warm inside!
The size/volume of the boiling wort cube was heating up the enclosed fridge rather than the fridge cooling it down. It was sitting about 30ââ¬â¢ at 8am. So, outside it went to sit in the shade on the concrete slabs for a few hours and it was down to about 22ââ¬â¢ by mid-day.
From now on, Iââ¬â¢ll leave it on the garage floor (or out the back) to cool down overnight.
I then transferred the wort to a proper fermentation vessel, pouring it from a height (smells amazing!), through a sieve, to catch any grain/hop debris, which also aerated the liquid at the same time.
FV only shows 20L for some reason, donââ¬â¢t think I boiled off 6L so itââ¬â¢s probably out a bit ââ¬â Iââ¬â¢ll calibrate it once done.
Sample drawn off for OG which came in at 1.052 and yeast was re-hydrated (personal preference) and pitched when ready.
Finally, sealed up and tucked away in a fermentation chamber @ ~20ââ¬â¢
Brew was starting to bubble about ~3 hours later when I checked and was bubbling like mad the following morningââ¬Â¦
As of yesterday, Thursday 20th Aug, bubble lock has stopped completely. I intend to leave it 10 ââ¬â 14 days for yeast clear up though.
Kit Summary
Proââ¬â¢s
Great kit for the money, quality yeast included, wort smelled and tasted superb, hoping for an amazing stout from this.
Only one large pot required for the 26L boil, mash just needs a pot/vessel big enough for a couple of litres of water and about a kilo of grain ââ¬â my old pressure cooker was more than adequate.
Conââ¬â¢s
Itââ¬â¢s a lot of work with a 30min mash & 60min boil for an extract kit. Plus a large pot is required for a 26L boil.
If you have a bigger vessel for the mash (e.g. ã10 quid Asda 24L coolbox) and chances are you do if you already have a large boiler, you could just get the full on AG kit i.e. replace the tins of LME with pale malt grain.
You have to do a temperature controlled mash and a 60 minute boil anywayââ¬Â¦ not just steeping some grains, boiling some DME/LME in a small stock pot and adding water to make 20-23L in your FV (which I thought was the benefit of extract brews).
Disclaimer ââ¬â Iââ¬â¢ve only been making beer just over a year and this is my first and only extract kit to date, ymmv :
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